Everyone is busy these days and there just isn't the time needed to digest complicated scientific papers. Of course, it's important for scientists to be able to do this - but there is also urgent need for science to be conveyed simply and more compellingly to the wider community.

The challenge is to do this without losing meaning, dumbing-down the writing or over-hyping it. This is easier said than done, as anyone who has tried their hand at science writing would know.

Many scientists overestimate their ability to communicate their research and - as is often the case - those most in need of training are the least likely to put their hands up to receive it.

"It is important that science is made accessible to as many people as possible," says Ros Gleadow, the convenor of Monash University's popular science-communication module.

At Monash University, she explains, all science students study scientific practice and community. "We teach them some tricks on how to quickly and efficiently access and critically analyse scientific information," Associate Professor Gleadow says, adding that students then compile the information into a comprehensive scientific literature review.

"It's pretty challenging," she says. "We only give them a broad topic, so they have to come up with the research question and then answer it using recent scientific literature."

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Students also prepare a snappy media release, based on one of the papers they use in their essay. "It has to accurately report the science, use everyday language and be interesting to the average Age reader," Associate Professor Gleadow says.

"With over 600 students, this is a tough competition," she adds. "But, at Monash, we believe in equipping students for life, not just training them in their disciplines - important as that is."

Science-communication tutor Lynette Plenderleith agrees. "A scientist needs to communicate their findings for it to be useful," she says. "The presentation of science comes in so many spoken and written forms - and modern communication of science invariably includes social media and informal discussion, as well as traditional conferences and papers."

Science, Ms Plenderleith reminds, is "the study of life; scientific literacy and understanding are essential in these times and for the future."

Prize

The Age newspaper is the sponsor of a science-communication prize for the best media release and we present below the work of the three finalists, along with details of their original sources.

First, Jack Ostergaard's winning entry, Lost ocean remnants reveal the origin of the Tibetan Plateau. A fourth-year science student, Jack is completing a double major in geoscience and zoology; SCI2010, the science-communication module, is the final science unit he has to take before graduating.

"At Monash, we believe in equipping students for life - not just training them in their disciplines, important as that is.”

Scientists have discovered sections of the Tibetan Plateau that appear to have once been part of the now extinct Tethys Ocean.

A study published in Earth-Science Reviews reveals the existence of ophiolites - large sections of foreign ocean - within the Tibetan plateau; many hundreds of kilometres away from any coastline. These ophiolites were found to pre-date the collision of the Indian continent with Asia, and may have played a part in the creation of the terrain we see in the plateau today.

How did these ocean rocks come to be in Tibet? Scientists propose that parts of the Tethys Sea were subducted (pushed) beneath Tibet as India began to close in on Asia. Many thousands of years of uplift and erosion would have left some of these ophiolites visible today.

The idea that sections of the Tethys could have been beneath Tibet during the collision of India and Asia is an important revelation for scientists attempting to reconstruct the events that led to creation of the Tibetan Plateau.

If there had been no subduction beneath Tibet, the landscape of both the plateau and much of south-east Asia may have been very different from what we observe today.

That's right! Once again the benefits of eating chocolate have been reinforced, and the findings are very encouraging.

A recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition has found that cocoa in the form of dark chocolate can be beneficial for our cardiovascular health.

The study led by researchers from Pennsylvania State University focused on moderately obese middle aged adults, and the findings have had chocolate lovers across the globe excited by the fact that such a loved confectionary sweet, which is more often seen as an unhealthy "sometimes food", can host quite a few benefits when consumed on a regular basis.

Food sources which are rich in the antioxidant flavanol can also include wine, tea and cocoa, with the antioxidant being linked to significantly lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and arterial rigidness, as well as increasing arterial flow of the brachial artery; which sounds pretty good to us right?! No more making up excuses or hiding the block of chocolate away in the back of the cupboard.

However, it is advised that chocolate along with all food groups should be eaten in moderation, and a doctor should be consulted before undergoing any major diet or lifestyle changes.

Jellyfish Going Against the Tide

Lucinda Race (second-year arts/science student who says she "has yet to decide where her future lies")

Our perception of the nomad jellyfish, moving with the flow of the ocean, needs revising according to a new study. Researchers have found that despite having no brain, heart or bones, jellyfish have a talent for swimming, and not only that, but also an incredible ability to navigate.

The skills these jellyfish possess allow them to swim against the current and avoid being separated. Not only good news for them, but also for the many tourists heading to the beach, as the more we learn about how jellyfish swim against the current to form blooms (the masses of jellyfish which suddenly appear on the surface of the ocean), the better we can predict where they will occur.

By observing and tracking the movements of the jellyfish, researchers discovered that despite having no eyes, they were able to orientate themselves according to the currents, to prevent becoming stranded.

While it is still unknown how exactly they do this, the information we now have will help to determine the possible locations of jellyfish blooms. Aside from avoiding nasty encounters with jellyfish while on holidays, greater understanding of the blooms will benefit many industries, including the fishing industry whose nets get blocked up by blooms.